Laxman slams media on retirement calls, dubs Australians defensive

New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) After scoring his second double century against Australia in third cricket Test here, V.V.S. Laxman slammed the media for raising questions on the seniors’ place in the team.Laxman, who scored a classy unbeaten 200 and together with Gautam Gambhir (206) helped India to score a mammoth 613 for the loss of seven wickets in the first innings at Feroz Shah Kotla here Thursday, also said the Australian team paid heavily for adopting a defensive approach in the four-match series, which India lead 1-0.

“Right from the start they were very defensive, which is quite uncharacteristic of an Australian team. Our captain Anil Kumble, despite being under pressure, always spoke about our team. But Ponting chose to focus more on India. So you can see they were on the defensive right from the start of the series,” Laxman told reporters after the end of second day’s play.

The 33-year-old Hyderabadi said the negative stories on the longevity of the senior players that came in the media in the run-up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy helped the team to stay positive.

“The Doubting Thomasses were in the media. There was no talk in the team. The team management and the selectors always gave me the confidence. Unfortunately all the stories that built up before the series were very negative, but we took it in a positive way. Because of all the negativity in the media we have done well in the series so far,” he said.

Laxman went on to add: “It is the media which keeps on advising the senior players to retire. The players are well aware of their responsibilities. They know when to take the decision and they are mature enough to do it.”

Laxman said the double century was satisfying.

“After a long time I got a score more than 150. I was scoring 100s, but not getting big centuries. It is a good sign for me,” he said.

The wristy batsman said after failing to score in the first two Test matches he was very eager to score a big one at the Kotla.

“It was unfortunate that I was not able to contribute in the first two Tests. I was keen to contribute here. It was very important for us to get a big first-innings score here so that we could put the pressure on the Australians,” he said.

Laxman also said his knock was very important from personal point because he didn’t throw his wicket away after getting the hundred.

“It was very important for me to carry on and get a big score and not throw it away after scoring a 100,” he said.